A compilation of daily news articles from around the United States about deaths (including both people and animals) that appear to occur in the context of a past or present intimate relationship, focusing on 2009-present. (NOTE: this blog is limited to incidents that appear in the media and are captured by our search terms. We recognize this is not an exhaustive portrayal of all deaths resulting from intimate violence.)
When is society going to realize intimate violence makes victims of us all?

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

A Long Beach man was convicted Tuesday of stabbing his girlfriend's husband to death in Torrance more than 25 years ago.

Janos Kulcsar, 60, who spent all those years in a relationship with his victim's wife, faces the rest of his life in prison for killing 58-year-old Archie McFarland.

Torrance Superior Court jurors deliberated about 2 1/2 hours at the end of the monthlong trial before returning with a verdict finding Kulcsar guilty of first-degree murder.

McFarland's 20-year-old son, Gary, found him bleeding in the family's driveway in the 4000 block of 184th Street just before dawn on Dec. 9, 1985. McFarland was stabbed four times in the chest while standing, and once in the groin after he collapsed, Deputy District Attorney John Lewin said.

Kulcsar, prosecutors said, was upset that McFarland's wife, Mary Ann McFarland, had ended their affair and had returned to live with her husband.

Kulcsar was quickly arrested after the killing, but prosecutors cited insufficient evidence in the case and rejected charges. Torrance police reopened the case two years ago and arrested Kulcsar on April 1, 2010.

Mary Ann McFarland testified during a preliminary hearing and at trial that she met Kulcsar at Alpine Village while having troubles with her marriage. Kulcsar persistently asked her to dance, and soon she developed a relationship with him. She left her husband to live with Kulcsar, but soon returned to work things out with her husband.
Kulcsar, however, continued to pursue her. Seven days before the killing, Kulcsar called the McFarland house, but Archie McFarland told him, "Go fly a kite," and hung up on him. Kulcsar called back and said, "Don't you hang up on me. I will get even with you," Lewin said.

The next day, Kulcsar showed up at the McFarland residence again. Mary Ann McFarland found him sitting in the living room with her husband.

"You know I've been seeing your wife," he told his victim.

Mary Ann McFarland, who told Kulcsar their relationship was over, testified that she found a gun in a bag he had brought into the house.

Six days later, Archie McFarland was stabbed. When police arrested Kulcsar, his car was hot and his clothes wet, Lewin said.

Lewin said Kulcsar told inconsistent stories over the years about where he had been.

Despite suspicions surrounding him, Mary Ann McFarland never believed Kulcsar was involved. About six months after the killing, she resumed her relationship with him and moved in with him in Long Beach.

"The wife testified she wanted to believe he was not involved," Lewin said. "She loves him. He takes care of her."

Mary Ann McFarland, who is 15 years older than Kulcsar, was not involved in her husband's killing, Lewin said.

Judge Mark Arnold is expected to sentence Kulcsar to 26 years to life on Aug. 2.